The 2007 defense authorization bill confirms Congressional desire to keep a second engine program going for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, despite Pentagon objections. The authorization act requires DOD to keep two engines in development and procurement and to provide three separate and independent cost analyses of the JSF engine program. The measure slows somewhat advance procurement, citing program delays and concern over too rapid development. (The companion spending bill funds the alternate engine and advance procurement for 12 JSFs.)
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…